Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Secretary of Labor on behalf of Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0178): Temporary-reinstatement payments calculated on remand
The Commission remanded this long-running temporary-reinstatement matter to calculate what Grimes Rock still owed Alvaro Saldivar after an earlier enforcement order and to determine interest on late payments. The Judge treated the Commission's prior rulings as settled and rejected Grimes Rock's…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company and Matthew Zimmer, Roger Peterson employed by Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company, et al. (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0224): Flagrant walkway penalty increased on remand
An earlier judge found that Northshore failed to maintain elevated walkways, acted with reckless disregard and unwarrantable failure, and assessed a $60,000 penalty after rejecting MSHA's flagrant designation. The Commission affirmed, but the Eighth Circuit held that the violation was flagrant and…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0178): Consequential damages denied on remand
On remand, the judge considered whether miner Alvaro Saldivar could recover consequential damages tied to delayed temporary-reinstatement payments. He held that such damages are available only after a proven section 105(c) discrimination violation, while the unappealed merits decision had found no…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0334): Enforcement citations and withdrawal order affirmed
Grimes Rock did not timely pay $12,533.94 in temporary economic reinstatement that an earlier judge had ordered for miner Alvaro Saldivar. MSHA cited the company, issued a section 104(b) withdrawal order when it failed to abate, and issued another citation when mine operations continued despite…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0015): Stay request denied
Grimes Rock asked the judge to stay three enforcement proceedings while the Ninth Circuit considered a related temporary-reinstatement appeal. The company argued that the court of appeals had exclusive jurisdiction and that its ruling could undermine the orders on which MSHA's citations and…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0334): Discovery limited to the disputed enforcement actions
The Secretary asked the judge to stop Grimes Rock from seeking discovery about MSHA inspections conducted in December 2023 and January 2024. The underlying cases concerned citations and an order issued in August 2022 after Grimes Rock allegedly failed to comply with temporary-reinstatement payment…
Secretary of Labor v. Arepet Industries, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Arepet Industries (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0221): MSHA jurisdiction over sand plant upheld
Arepet Industries argued that its Von Ormy sand plant belonged under OSHA because it bought commercially available wet sand and did not extract minerals. The plant stockpiled and dried the sand, used a separator to remove waste, and sold the processed material for use at oil and gas drilling sites…
Secretary of Labor obo Victor Torres v. W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company
Secretary of Labor obo Victor Torres v. W. G. Yates & Sons Construction (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0256): Reinstatement granted but tolled
Victor Torres exercised stop-work authority because he believed using a manlift to lower pipe was unsafe, documented the work with photographs, and was laid off three days later. The judge found a nonfrivolous issue as to whether the safety activity played a role in the layoff, so he granted the…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0010): Mine Act jurisdiction and electrical citations sustained
Cactus Canyon argued that its Fairland Plant was a manufacturing facility outside MSHA jurisdiction because it no longer extracted rock onsite. The Judge found that repeatedly crushing and sizing dimension stone into terrazzo material constituted mineral milling, independently bringing the…
Secretary of Labor obo Moses Ortiz v. Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating, Inc., et al.
Secretary of Labor obo Moses Ortiz v. Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0028): Discrimination complaint dismissed
The Secretary alleged that Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating discharged Moses Ortiz for safety complaints and for asserting a right to contact MSHA. The evidence centered on an April 2021 call after Ortiz objected to his supervisor’s conduct, declined a transfer, demanded that the supervisor be…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0010-M): Late-petition dismissal denied after extension was met
Cactus Canyon asked to dismiss its penalty case because the Secretary did not file the petition within the usual 45-day period after the operator's contest. Before the petition was filed, the Chief Judge had found good cause and extended the deadline to January 18, 2022; the Commission declined…
Secretary of Labor obo Moses Ortiz v. Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating, Inc., et al.
Secretary of Labor obo Moses Ortiz v. Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0184 DM): Temporary reinstatement agreement enforced
Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating missed payments required by its temporary economic reinstatement agreement with miner Moses Ortiz. The company asked the judge to dismiss the discrimination case and sanction Ortiz for alleged perjury, relying in part on criminal convictions that Ortiz had not…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0010 M): Contest filing triggered Commission jurisdiction
Cactus Canyon Quarries appealed an order that gave the Secretary more time to file a penalty petition and argued that the Commission lacked jurisdiction before that petition was filed. Judge Richard W. Manning rejected that position and held that Commission jurisdiction attached when Cactus Canyon…
Secretary of Labor v. Solvay Chemicals, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Solvay Chemicals, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2020-0278 M): Delayed injury report affirmed, negligence reduced
Solvay Chemicals operates an underground trona mine in Wyoming. A miner was struck by a roof fall while repairing a bore miner, suffered visible head injuries, and was later diagnosed with a shattered orbital socket. MSHA cited Solvay under 30 C.F.R. § 50.10(b) because management did not notify the…
Secretary of Labor obo Miguel Pugmire v. Nevada Gold Mines, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Miguel Pugmire v. Nevada Gold Mines, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0148 DM): Ventilation allegation added to complaint
Miguel Pugmire alleged that Nevada Gold Mines terminated him after he removed four headings from service because of low airflow readings. Discovery produced evidence that he had also raised ventilation concerns at an earlier meeting attended by the manager who later terminated him. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2020-0087-M): Brake-system citation vacated
MSHA cited Vulcan Construction Materials after an inspector heard air escaping from a water truck's rear brake chamber at the South Russellville Quarry. The service and parking brakes both held the truck, but the Secretary argued that the audible release showed a brake-system component was not…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.